The present invention relates to a manually operated device having a turning handle for electrical switching devices, in particular circuit breakers.
Manually operated devices are known which can be connected to the driving axle of a rotary drive of a switching device, directly or as a door coupling handle to be secured on a switch cabinet door, for example, as described in German Patent Document No. C 43 22 214. A manually operated device of this type according to German Patent Document No. C 43 12 428, has a turning handle which indicates the specific position of the control device, the turning handle being in operative connection with the driving axle via a swiveling driver pin and a coupling part, the turning handle in a circular collar encompassing a rim of a base plate and being able to be latched and locked, using a locking slide bar, both in the ON as well as in the OFF position of the switching device, and, as a result of decoupling between the driver pin and the coupling part, an automatic turning off of the switching device not being prevented due to a fault condition, e.g., in consequence of an overload or shortcircuit.
To assure congruent switching positions of the turning handle in varying installation positions of the switching device (in general, the turning handle is always set at 12 o""clock), according to the publication German Patent Document No. U 94 05 568, a special coupling piece is required. In this coupling piece, by detaching a retaining metal piece from a driver pin piece, the end piece of a receptacle piece is removed from the recess of the driver pin piece and, in accordance with the requirements, is reinserted in a position that is offset with respect to the previous position by 90xc2x0, 180xc2x0, or 270xc2x0 and is retained in this position by once again attaching the retaining metal piece on the driver pin piece. It is disadvantageous that this solution can be applied only in connection with a door coupling handle, but not in the case of directly attaching a manually operated device to a rotary drive or in the case of a plurality of switching devices that are latchable or driven in parallel.
An objective of the present invention is assuring congruent grip positions of a versatile manually operated device in different installation positions of the switching device.
The present invention provides a manually operated device having a turning handle for electrical switching devices. The turning handle (5) indicates the specific switching position of the switching device (1), and is in operative connection with the driving axle (22) of a rotary drive (2) of the switching device (1). A base plate (4) is mounted on the rotary drive (2) having a circular rim (41). The base plate (4) can be mounted, using fasteners, in different offset positions around to the driving axle (22). A circular first edge segment (42) is formed on the rim projecting towards the inside. The turning handle (5) is in operative connection with a drive plate (6; 6xe2x80x2) that can be brought into engagement with the driving axle (22) and which can be inserted inside the rim (41). A circular second edge segment (62; 62xe2x80x2) is formed on the drive plate (6; 6xe2x80x2) with respect to the otherwise set-back edge area (63; 63xe2x80x2). In the OFF position of the switching device (1), the two edge segments (42, 62 or 62xe2x80x2) come together to form a nearly complete circle without overlapping, the set-back edge area (63; 63xe2x80x2) forming a feed-through for the first edge segment (42). In every position deviating from the OFF position, the second edge segment (62; 62xe2x80x2) at least partially overlaps or grasps from behind the first edge segment (42).
In the varying installation positions of the switching device, generally perpendicular and offset, in each case, by 90xc2x0 from the horizontally running driving axle, the base plate can always be mounted in the same position, congruent with respect to the perpendicular, on the rotary drive of the switching device. A drive plate, on the one hand, is fixedly connected to the driving axle of the rotary drive and, on the other hand, is in operative connection with the turning handle, the drive plate being elastically coupled, in particular permitting a certain amount of play. The turning handle sits either directly on the base plate and therefore on the rotary drive of the switching device or on a switch cabinet door, an extension axle, correspondingly coded through its cross-section, in this case having to be arranged between the base plate and the turning handle. The first edge segment, provided on the base plate, and the second edge segment, provided on the drive plate, combine to make nearly a complete circle only in the position of the two segments in which the drive plate can be completely set onto the base plate and which, at the same time, constitutes the OFF position of the turning handle with respect to the base plate. Only in this mutual OFF position can the drive plate be removed from the base plate. In all other mutual positions, there is no possibility of placing the drive plate onto the base plate both as a result of obstructing the second edge segment by the first edge segment, there also being no possibility of removing the drive plate from the base plate as a result of the first edge segment being gripped from behind by the second edge segment. The manually operated device according to the present invention can be also applied to a plurality of switching devices operated in parallel or to interlocking switching devices.
The base plate may be configured as essentially square or circular, and to provide it with switching position symbolsxe2x80x94at least for OFF and ON. Given four installation positions of the base plate, offset in each case by 90xc2x0, it is advantageous that the one edge segment amount to roughly a quarter circle and the other edge segment to roughly a three-quarter circle, complementing the former.
For many application cases, it may be advantageous to furnish the manually operated device with means for being locked in the OFF position. For this purpose, the turning handle contains a locking slide bar and a locking pin, actuated by the locking slide bar, the locking pin in the latched OFF position extending through a first locking opening in the fixed first edge segment and therefore fixing this position until being unlatched. In order to effectively prevent a locking of the manually operated device in response to unauthorized conditions, in particular in response to worn contacts of the switching device, the locking pin extends, in one part of its length, through the first locking opening and through a second locking opening configured in the set-back edge area, opposite the second edge segment. The two locking openings are configured so as to be open opposite each other and they encircle the locking pin on both sides, in the latched OFF position.
In order to lock the manually operated device in the ON position, a third locking opening is provided in the first edge segment for engaging with the locking pin. This third locking opening can be formed by removing a corresponding partial piece from the first edge segment or by removing a locking plug-in insert.
One advantageous refinement of the present invention also rests in the fact that, as a result of the cooperation of the rim of the base plate with a collar of the control bar, encircling the rim, protection against spray water is afforded. Furthermore, in the rim and in the collar, appropriate cut-outs can be provided which overlap each other in the OFF position of the manually operated device, so as, only in this manner, to prepare the path for an appropriate tool to reach the mounting means which secure the turning handle on the drive axle or on the extension axle, and therefore to prevent the disassembly of the manually operated device outside the OFF position of the switching device.
Another advantageous refinement lies in the fact that in the installation of the switching device having a rotary drive inside a switch cabinet or a different surrounding housing on the switch cabinet door or the like, a further base plate is mounted in the same position as the inner base plate and the turning handle is mounted thereon. Thus even from outside, clarity and legibility of the grip positions is assured, the appearance remaining the same.